This application relates to dental fiberoptic handpiece hose assemblies, and more particularly to dental fiberoptic handpiece hose assemblies that are field-serviceable.
In the modern dental office, one of the main pieces of equipment used by the dentist is the handpiece. The handpiece is connected to its power supply by a long, flexible hose. The hose contains parallel passageways for transmitting drive air, exhaust air, chip air, water and light to the handpiece.
A typical commercially available hose has four passageways for the air and liquid transmissions and a fifth central passageway containing a fiberoptic bundle for transmitting light to an illuminator located in the handpiece to provide extra light to assist the dentist during the cutting, polishing or other activities in the patient's oral cavity. Another conventional hose comprises a flexible outer tube, often clothcovered, that contains a plurality of separate conduits or tubings for transmitting the air, water and light to the handpiece.
Representative of these conventional assemblies is that shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,553,938 (Olsen).
There is a need in the dentist office for a handpiece hose assembly that is aseptic. Because of the concern regarding the transmission of communicable diseases, especially the Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, extra precautions are being taken to ensure that all dental treatments are as sanitary as possible. There is a renewed emphasis on providing equipment that is aseptic - that is, the equipment needs to be as bacteria free as possible. The hose needs to be cleaned on a regular basis and should be of a construction that does not contain crevices or areas in which bacteria can collect.
During dental operations the handpiece is often twisted, rotated or reoriented to allow the dentist to work at all angles in the patient's oral cavity. In order to permit this twisting, rotating and reorientation, the hose needs to be attached to the handpiece by a swivel arrangement. Various assemblies have been proposed to allow for a maximum amount of swiveling, such as the assembly shown in the above-referenced Olsen patent.
Also during use of the dental handpiece, it is a common occurrence that leaks or blockages will occur in the fluid lines that transmit the air and water to the handpiece. It would be preferable if the fiberoptic handpiece and hose could be serviced in the field--that is, in the dentist's office without the necessity of simply replacing the entire assembly or returning the assembly to the repair shop, neither of which is cost effective. Because returning the parts to the repair shop is not cost effective, the current practice is to simply replace the entire hose assembly rather than repairing it at all.
The conventional fiberoptic bundle is made of glass fibers and is also a problem area in that it is relatively quite heavy and non-flexible. The weight of the fiberoptic bundle increases the fatigue encountered by the dentist during his workday. The non-flexibility of the fiberoptic bundle increases the likelihood of breaks occurring in the fiberoptic line during the twisting, rotating and reorientation of the hose that occurs during the use of the handpiece.
Many conventional fiberoptic handpieces are also touch-activated--that is, the fiberoptic bundle is activated by the touch of the operator to transmit light to the handpiece. This is accomplished by the use of a metal adapter mounted in the connection between the hose and the handpiece. The fiberoptic bundle is attached to the metal adapter and the adapter detects the touch of the operator to activate the fiberoptic bundle which causes light to be transmitted to the handpiece. The use of metal, however, in the adapter adds to the overall weight of the assembly.
It is an object of the present invention to provide for an aseptic hose that can be used in a dental fiberoptic handpiece assembly.
It is a feature of the present invention that the hose used in a dental fiberoptic handpiece assembly has no external ridges or crevices that may trap bacteria and the assembly may be easily cleaned by simply wiping with cleaning fluid.
It is an advantage of the present invention that the aseptic hose will drastically eliminate the potential for bacteria to be present on the hose thereby decreasing the likelihood that communicable diseases might be encountered in the dentist's office.
It is a further object of the present invention that the dental handpiece can be connected to the hose by an assembly that is field-serviceable.
It is a further feature of the present invention that the connection between the hose and the dental handpiece is releasable to allow access to the internal components to permit servicing in the field. The hose is attached to the rear end of the swivel assembly to allow easy access to the internal components of the assembly.
It is a further advantage of the present invention that leaks or blockages in the air or liquid transmitting components or breakages in the fiberoptic bundle can be repaired in the field without the necessity of replacing the entire assembly or returning the entire assembly to the repair shop.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an improved fiberoptic bundle that is more flexible and lightweight than the presently used fiberoptic bundles.
It is a further feature of the present invention to utilize a fiberoptic bundle made from an acrylic material.
It is a further advantage of the present invention that the acrylic fiberoptic bundle will provide an assembly that is lighter in weight and more flexible than the fiberoptic bundles presently used thereby increasing the ease of use of the handpiece and also reducing the potential for breakdown of the fiberoptic hose assembly.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an improved touch-activated adapter that activates the fiberoptic bundle to provide light to the dentist's working area.
It is a further feature of the present invention to utilize a generally plastic touch-activated adapter to activate the fiberoptic bundle.
It is a further advantage of the present invention that the generally plastic touch-activated adapter for the fiberoptic bundle will decrease the weight of the overall assembly.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a fiberoptic hose assembly that is oil resistant.
It is a further feature of the present invention to utilize an outer tubing material that is resistant to the lubricant oil that is present in the turbine-powered handpiece.
It is a further advantage of the present invention that the oil resistant outer tubing will resist hardening and cracking and provide for an improved life of the fiberoptic handpiece hose assembly.